Apocalypse
by ComposerDragon
Summary: Terra finally wakes up, only to find Jump City destroyed and all of the Titans hospitalized. What happened while she was frozen in stone? sorry, I'm not the most amazing summary writer. rated T for some, violence, blood and guts
1. Awakened

The numbness was not complete anymore.

There, on her fingertip! It was a cool, moving sensation.

Air.

Rushing air, that's what it was. She could feel it! She wiggled around and soon her entire fist was out. She clenched her fingers, and thought of how loud they would be snapping could she hear them. She needed to break free. All the way.

She wrenched her arm upwards as hard as she could. The barrier gave, and she could move. Another jerk and the other arm was released. And she then began to desperately tear at the rock that kept her immobile. The stone fell away from her face, and she could breath.

Terra fell to her hands and knees, gasping for air. It was a wonderful, overwhelming feeling. She had not breathed, ate, moved, or done anything for… how long had it been? Surely not that long. Perhaps a week?

Her skin buzzed, and she could feel the clothes she was wearing. It was cold, wrapping around her body, and hanging heavy around her shoulders, wrists, ankles and chest, like a parasite. She gritted her teeth. Slade's cursed uniform. But something was different. It didn't hug her body like it used to, it hung looser. Was it possible that…?

Not daring to believe it, Terra gripped the chest piece and pulled, and to her surprise, it fell away. Rust stained her hand. She eagerly ripped off all of the other pieces and stood up, enjoying the feeling. She was really free. But where was she?

It was a large tower rising from the middle of a gigantic cavern. Strange, looping formations twisted up from the ground and hung down from the ceiling. A decrepit bridge of stone connected her to the wall of the cave. Smashed machinery lay strewn about. Broken glass littered the floor.

Suddenly everything came rushing back at once. The Titans, her betrayal, working for Slade, defeating him, the volcano…

The Titans. Would they take her back? Sure, she had stopped the eruption, but that wouldn't make everything all right again. Would they forgive her? She had tried to kill them, and almost succeeded! She winced as she remembered Beast Boy's face, staring in disbelief and sadness as she closed the canyon on top of him. She would never forgive herself, that was for sure.

Terra then turned to view the spot where she had stood not minutes before, frozen in stone. Beneath it was a small, abnormal square of rock, more polished and smoother than the rest. When she moved closer, she realized that it was a plaque. On it read:

TERRA

A TEEN TITAN

A TRUE FRIEND

Terra's heart soared. They had forgiven her! But why leave a monument? She hadn't been gone for that long.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind. She would deal with that later. As for now, she had to get out of here. She started walking purposefully across the bridge, and was halfway there when she realized that her uniform was in tatters. She couldn't go out in public, not yet.

Taking a detour, she turned left at the door out and went into the small, impersonal room she had slept in while training with Slade. Inside her dresser, she had kept the old clothes she had worn before Slade had designed the suit. She pulled out a tight, black shirt with a golden T on it and tan shorts. Funny, everything was completely coated in dust.

Satisfied now, Terra trudged up the steep slope and soon she was out in the open air. It was chilly, and she could see her breath. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling. But then she noticed that something was wrong. She was in the heart of Jump City, why was everything so quiet?

Terra slowly opened her eyes and gasped in disbelief.

The city was in ruins. Half of the buildings on the street were fallen or partially destroyed. The ones that were standing were boarded up and in serious disrepair. Cars lay on their roofs, windows shattered. The pavement was ruptured, revealing the pipes underneath, and the power lines hung useless across the ground.

Terra shook her head and pressed her palms to her eyes, trying to think. Something bad had happened. Maybe an earthquake? Without her, the Titans would have been unable to stop something like that. She had to go and see them. She could help.

She concentrated hard, and soon the familiar, warm feeling bubbled up inside of her. Her eyes glowed gold and she forced a rock out of the ground, making it soar, with her on top of it, down the street.

She began to doubt her earthquake idea as she flew. There were huge craters and burn marks in the earth, and almost every structure had visible damage. And still, there were no people. She turned to look more as she sped over the waterfront and out across the bay. She shook her head again.

_Well, at least it'll all make sense when I reach…_

Terra's eyes widened as she turned back around.

_Titans Tower._

The place was almost gone. Gigantic chunks were blasted off of it, and bits of concrete littered the shore. All of the windows were broken, and the T car was torn in half and scorched.

She felt herself sway uneasily as she stumbled off of the rock and onto the small, rocky beach.

"What happened!?" she screamed at the ruins. There was no response. Her crazed, confused voice echoed off the broken skyline far behind her and bounced back, eerily warped. She stared more, then walked up to the front door.

She didn't know why, but she knocked. Big mistake. At her slightest touch, the whole door fell to the ground in a cloud of dust. Terra coughed and stepped carefully inside. All of the chairs were toppled and coated with a thick layer of more dust. She made her way through the hallways to find more carnage. Every part of the tower was similar, destroyed and dusty. She stepped tentatively into the living room to view the worst yet.

The wall screen was shattered, and cold, misty air flowed freely in. A gaping hole was in the floor too, reaching down several stories. Something that looked suspiciously like blood was splattered across some of the walls. And stuck in the middle of the floor was one of Cyborg's arms. The coating on it was shattered, and circuitry spilled out like guts. It was so bent out of shape that Terra had a hard time telling what it was at first.

Hand over her mouth, Terra backed away, out of the room. She had to know what had happened. She had to contact the Titans somehow. But how could she find out where they were?

Suddenly she knew.

Back down the halls, dodging holes in the floor and rubble collapsed from the walls, up the stairs, under the flickering of an old emergency light that hadn't been shattered, and up to a plain, untouched door. On it was a single word:

TERRA

The former owned swallowed and pressed the keypad. The door slid open silently.

Inside it was pitch black, so Terra allowed just enough of her power to seep out so as to make a golden glow around her hand. Its soft light bathed the walls.

The place was in surprisingly good shape. Only a few small holes marred the mural of a mountainscape that decorated the walls, and the window was only spun with a web of hairline cracks, not completely broken. Sitting on the bed was a small, shiny object. It was the silver box Beast Boy had made for her, untouched. A lump caught in Terra's throat, but she forced in down. Beside the box was goal. Her old Titans Communicator. She sat down on the bed, sending up a cloud of more dust, picked up the communicator, took a deep breath, and turned it on.


	2. Bayside Hospital

**Hello. Well, here's chapter 2 of my first fanfic. I would have said that on the first chapter, but I couldn't figure out how. And that was chapter 1, saying it was chapter 2 would make no sense. But I digress. Warning: this is a pretty mushy chapter. I think it sorta needed to be, but still…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. I wish I did.**

Static fizzed across the old screen, and soon Terra was looking at the face of a nurse.

"Um… hello? Is this thing on?" the nurse inquired. "They told me it shouldn't go off…"

"Who are you? Why do you have a Titans Communicator?" Terra asked accusingly.

The nurse jumped and held the device away from her, as if it would bite. "I'm taking care of the Titans, after that fight with Apocalypse. Some of them are in a bad way."

"Fight? What fight? Which hospital are you at?"

"Bayside, why? Who are you?"

Terra ended the transmission and practically leaped down the stairs. _Who is Apocalypse? _She wondered. _And the Titans are hospitalized? What happened when I was away?_

Vaulting over the collapsed entryway, Terra called a ride up from the earth and flew in the direction of Bayside Hospital. It wasn't hard to spot, really. It was gleaming white and one of the largest buildings still standing.

Terra jumped off her rock and burst through the revolving door all in one motion. Regaining her balance, she sprinted up to the front desk.

"The Titans! Where are the Titans? What rooms are they in?"

A befuddled clerk just stared at her in confusion. In the back of her mind Terra noticed that all of the hospital workers looked the same. But that wasn't important at the moment.

"WHERE ARE THEY!?" she screamed into the secretary's face.

"T-t-the Intensive Care Complex. D-down the hall, up the stairs to level H, then on your immediate right. Y-you can't miss it!"

"Thanks, lady." Terra ran to the stairwell, skidding on the polished linoleum floor in the process, and threw herself up the steps. She had rarely run so fast in her entire life. The little floor labels, almost like street signs, whizzed by in a blur until- there! Level H! Planting an arm on the ground to stabilize herself, Terra dove through the door, past two surprised-looking doctors, and landed in front of the entranceway to the complex.

"This is it Terra," she said to herself, under her breath. "Time to find out what's up."

Adjusting her goggles and taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

The Intensive Care Complex was a large, circular hub, with several rooms branching off of it. Inside one Terra could see an operating table. Another pulsed with blue light, but she couldn't see its glowing contents. Several beds were arranged in the middle of the hub, dimly lit under grey lighting, but they were concealed by curtains. There were some characteristic waiting room chairs along one wall, and in one sat Robin.

When he looked up to see who had entered, Robin's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Terra? Terra, is that really you?" He struggled to rise, but was slowed by the large, full-leg cast he was wearing. Terra ran and embraced him.

"Robin, what happened? What's going on?" She gripped his shirt, her eyes pleading with him for answers. But Robin only smiled softly and brushed her hair behind her ears. It was the tenderest thing she had ever seen Robin do.

"I still can't believe you were gone for almost three years."

"Three years?" Terra staggered and grabbed Robin's arm. It felt odd, cold and hard, so she carefully pushed up the sleeve.

Terra reeled backwards, hand over her mouth in shock. Robin's arm was mechanical. It looked incomplete; it wasn't like Cyborg's arms, all refined and sleek. This was just a few simple tubes with a crude hand on the end, connected by a mess of wires.

"Robin, w-… wh-…" She tried to speak, but she was somehow not able to. Robin laid his real hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright. It's all over now."

He then turned and called softly into a different room. "Starfire! We have a visitor."

There was a light creaking sound, and Starfire rolled up in a wheelchair, her legs bound in a thick wrap of bandages.

"Terra!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Terra's skinny shoulders. Terra stuttered some more, looking in shock at the wheelchair the alien was confined to. Starfire seemed to read her thoughts.

"Do not worry; I am not, how you say, crippled. I will fly again someday."

"Hey, do I hear some conversation out there? Get in here!" a voice called from the pulsing blue room. Robin put a light hand on Terra's shoulder and led her towards the door. "It's Cyborg," he whispered to her. "Try to remain calm."

Before she could inquire what he meant, Terra was through the door. The center of the room was dominated by a large tank filled with a bluish liquid. Floating in the liquid was Cyborg.

Or, at least, some of Cyborg. All that was really there was most of his torso and his head, and the mechanical part of that was open, with several wires floating free. Terra's jaw dropped, and some hot tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.

"Terra? That you?" Cyborg craned his neck to get a better view of her. "Don't worry, I'm fine," he said to her astonished expression. "Half of the stuff I'm missing was removable anyway. I'm actually one of the better ones off around here. Brother Blood took me apart worse than this."

Terra half collapsed on the floor in front of him, mouth agape. "How can you be okay?" she began softly. "You're in pieces!" she paused. "And who's Brother Blood?"

Cyborg laughed. "I'm well taken care of. Meet doctors Jacob, Hobbes, Martin and Phil." He jerkily motioned to the four robotic arms positioned around him. Robin raised an eyebrow.

"What? It gets lonely in here." Cyborg did what could be passed off as a shrug, giving that didn't have much of his shoulders left.

"But what happened?" Terra repeated her first question. Cyborg grimaced.

"I'm not sure if I'm really the one best suited to tell you," he admitted. "I won't be able to explain it very well; I don't have an eye for detail. You should go to- "

They were interrupted by a painful retching sound from the main room.

"Beast Boy!" Robin spun on his heel and ran through the door, or best as he could with the cast on his leg. Starfire quickly followed.

Terra gave Cyborg a nervous look.

"Don't worry," he said, his voice soft and reassuring. "It'll be fine. You have to face it sooner or later."

Terra slowly made for the doorway.

"And he doesn't hate you. I promise." He jerked his shoulder, beckoning her onward.

Terra walked back into the hub to find that the curtain around one of the hospital beds was pulled back. Starfire and Robin were gathered close, Robin holding a pan to catch the blood coming out of the bed's occupant's mouth. Starfire saw her and beckoned her over.

Lying on the bed was Beast Boy. He was bandage wrapped around his forehead and stomach, and part of one of his ears was bitten off. He moaned, wiped the blood from his lips, and then saw Terra.

"Am I dreaming?" he whispered. Terra shook her head slightly.

"Terra. You're alive. You've come back." He traced his hand along her cheek slowly, catching the tears gushing from her eyes. He was crying as well.

"I thought I'd never see you again."

Terra couldn't contain herself any longer. With a mighty sob she collapsed to her knees, burying her face into Beast Boy's chest. And he was weeping harder too, holding her shoulders tightly and stroking her hair.

"I missed you so much, Beast Boy. But I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me," she said between gasps.

"There wasn't a day I didn't think about you," he admitted. "You were always there, in my thoughts, in my dreams. I never forgot about you."

After about five minutes Terra and Beast Boy managed to pull themselves together.

"So what happe-"she began again, but Beast Boy stopped her.

"Talk to her." He jerked his thumb at the next bed, which was still curtained. Tentatively, Terra reached out and pulled the veil away.

Raven stirred at the sound and slowly opened her eyes.

"T-Terra?" Her voice was raspy and so soft Terra could barely hear her. "You're alive? Unfrozen?"

Terra nodded, still nervous.

Raven smiled. Not a full grin, just the tiniest twitch of the corner of her mouth. "Good to hear. Sorry you had to come back at a time like this, of all the options. We're not in the best shape." She grimaced and rubbed her shoulder.

Relief flooded over Terra like a waterfall. She knew that for Raven, trust was almost impossible to reform, once broken. She had been hoping against it, but had been expecting flames. Beast Boy had managed to roll onto his side.

"Do you think you can tell Terra what happened?" he asked. Raven shook her head slightly.

"No, there's too much to tell." Terra slouched, saddened.

"I can show you, though."

Slowly, ever so slowly, Raven raised her hand to lightly touch her finger on Terra's forehead.

"Raven," Robin warned.

"Relax, Robin. I can do this. I have to. She deserves at least this much." She turned back to Terra.

"Take a deep breath, Terra. You're about to enter Nevermore."

Terra's vision was engulfed by a blinding white light. A rushing sound filled her ears, and above it all she heard Raven say three words.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."


	3. Inside Nevermore

The ground rushed up to meet her, and Terra was barely able to orient herself correctly before she landed. She rose slowly, rubbing the back of her head, then gasped. "Whoa."

She was standing on a rock floating in the middle of space. All of the stars glowed red, and more rocks hovered in the distance, some with large crooked trees on them. A raven flew silently across the sky.

"What is this place?" she wondered aloud. Her voice echoed strangely around the area.

"It's Nevermore," explained Raven, flying up to her. She looked much better here, not so pale and sickly. "This is technically inside my mind, where I go to meditate. I thought just showing you my memories would be easier than explaining it all to you."

Suddenly a loud voice rang out in the air. "RAVEN!"

A figure dressed in a pink robe shot out of nowhere and slammed into Raven, holding her in a gigantic hug that would make Starfire proud. Raven detached herself with some difficulty. "Erm, hello Happy. Nice to see you too."

Happy resorted to standing at Raven's side, bouncing slightly on her toes and beaming. Terra was monumentally confused. Aside from the colors and the expressions they were wearing, they both looked exactly the same.

"Terra, this is Happy." Raven told her before she could ask.

"And she's your clone because…?"

"We're inside my mind, remember? My powers are controlled mainly by emotion, so I need to keep them separate and out of my hair. No offense, Happy."

Happy just giggled.

"So after a while, they kinda formed their own personas." Raven shrugged. "C'mon, we have to go."

Raven led Terra down a stone path towards a particularly large island floating in the distance. Happy followed. Along the way, Terra saw more Emoticlones.

_That one's Intelligence._ She thought as she passed one in a cream-colored cloak, reading a book. She was wearing glasses. _And that one is probably Timid, or something. _She was looking at one in a grey cloak sitting under a tree, face buried in her knees. Another one in green was beside her, enthusiastically telling her to climb. _Is that Bravery? _

As they continued to walk, another Emoticlone approached. It seemed odd, all of the other ones shied away from it, even Happy, who had been hugging and saying hi to everyone else. It wore a dark red robe.

It stopped walking as they continued. As Terra passed, she noticed it had four red eyes, glaring at her from under the shadows of its hood. It hissed as she walked away.

"Who was that?" Terra asked Raven in a hushed whisper.

"Rage," Raven replied simply. Terra remembered back when Slade had sent her to kill the Titans, how Raven had developed four red eyes like those. She shivered.

"We're here." Raven had led them to a large entryway set in the rock. With a wave of her hand the doors opened, and they walked into the shadows within.

Resting in the middle of the darkness was a circular pool, glowing softly. A Raven sat by the edge, wearing a cloak that rippled across a rainbow of colors when it moved. It gently held an ornate, antique clock in its lap. It looked up when they came in.

"Terra? Why yes, I remember…" It touched the surface of the pool with a finger, and under the surface the image changed to reveal a picture of Terra, running through a desert, being chased by a giant scorpion. Raven sat down beside the clone.

"Memory, can you show Terra what's happened recently?"

"Yes, I can. I should. Get in the pool, Terra."

Terra was confused. "Wait, do what?"

"Get in the pool. Trust me."

Terra tentatively walked up to the edge. With one last look at Raven, who nodded encouragement, she stepped in.

As soon as the liquid closed over her head, she was struck with thousands of images, flickering from one to the next in rapid succession. There was Beast Boy placing the plaque under her statue, Beast Boy morphing into a large, hairy monster and holding Raven in his teeth, Cyborg being taken apart by a man with a sharp face and glowing red eyes, with mechanical components similar to Cyborg's, Raven running from Slade, whose forehead burned with a strange symbol, the Titans fighting an army of fire creatures, a demon with horns, white hair and four red eyes emerging from a portal in the ground, Raven with long hair and wearing a white robe shooting white bursts of energy at the demon, Beast Boy wearing a goofy mask, surrounded by adults in suits similar to his, a group a characters including a large gorilla, an extremely old man, a smirking woman in red and a brain in a jar capturing the Titans, a gigantic battle with tons of kids in superhero costumes battling every villain Terra had ever heard of, then…

All of the images slowly faded to black.

"That was the past three years," Raven's voice echoed around her in the darkness. "You are now going to see in detail what happened a few days ago. It will seem like you are me, but don't fight anything and don't struggle. Just watch."


	4. A New Threat

**Several reasons why I posted this chapter early. 1, it's my favorite chapter. 2, chapter 3 is kinda small. 3, today is a really big day for me, my middle school band is playing a song I composed. So I feel like posting two in one day. But enough with the reasons, you want to see the story, right?**

**PS I shifted into complete 1****st**** person here, from the POV of Raven. It made it easier to write, so roll with it.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Teen Titans.**

"Raven, get up! This is really important!"

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. I had hoped that I could stay in the nice, shady confines of my room undisturbed tonight, but apparently Beast Boy had other plans.

"Go away, Beast Boy, I'll be out in a minute," I called back to him. Like I was going to move anywhere. The last time BB had said something was important he had had a splinter in his toe.

"No, really! Aqualad just showed up with some mondo-super-huge-ic news! Robin says everyone has to get up NOW!"

_Okay, fine, String Bean._ I thought unhappily, lighting some candles with a twitch of my finger and pushing the covers back. _But if you are kidding around I will lock you in a cage every night for the rest of your life._ "Alright, I'm coming. This better be important." Beast Boy apparently left my door.

I took a bit getting up, trying to keep my eyes open. What time was it, anyway?

After a few minutes Beast Boy was back, hammering on my door. "RAVEN, COME ON! WE GOTTA-"

"ENOUGH!" I let my powers seep out and Beast Boy was zapped away from the door. I could hear loud thumps echoing off the walls as he bounced down the stairs. Summoning my cloak off of its hanger and wrapping it around my shoulders, I opened the door and went down to the living room.

When I got there, it was an interesting scene. Beast Boy was sitting on the floor, rubbing his head with an annoyed look on his face, Cyborg was preparing an ice pack in the kitchen, and Robin and Starfire were gathered around the couch where Aqualad sat, feet up and breathing hard. Water dribbled off him onto the floor.

"Bout time, Raven," Beast Boy said, standing now.

"Since when are you the first up? You oversleep for everything." I asked.

"Since Robin went in and slapped him awake," Cyborg muttered, smiling. BB seemed to pretend not to hear, but I could feel the annoyance flowing off of him. I could also feel the fear in Aqualad, so I walked over.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

"There's a new threat approaching," he said between pants. Cyborg walked over and placed the ice pack on his arm.

"What kind of threat? Did Brother Blood escape? Is Slade back?" Robin inquired.

"No, someone new. He just appeared out of nowhere, way out in the deep water." Aqualad coughed and I laid a hand on his shoulder.

"He just swam up and destroyed Atlantis. The whole thing is gone. He fired three bursts of energy from his hands and everything was swept away."

Starfire gasped and put a hand over her mouth. I could feel the sadness coming off of Aqualad in waves, and I tried to absorb some of it.

"Where is he from?" Robin asked.

"I don't know," Aqualad replied.

"What is his goal?"

"I don't know."

"Does he have help?"

"I don't know."

"What do you know, then?" Robin sounded sort of exasperated. I gestured at him to calm down, indicating that our guest was under a lot of stress and grief at the moment.

"Not much," Aqualad admitted. "I do know that his name is Apocalypse, that he is incredibly powerful, and that Jump City is his next target."

"How do we stop such a creature?" Starfire asked. Fear wavered at the edge of her voice.

"Gather up everyone we can," Aqualad said. "Get Titans East, Honorary Titans, anyone who can and is willing to fight. We have to stop him here; otherwise he'll go and conquer every other city that stands between him and his goal."

"I'm on it," Cyborg said, then left the room.

"When should he get here?" was Robin's next question. He sounded considerably more serious now.

"At his present rate? Sunset. We need to be as prepared as we can by then."

"Alright, Starfire, go and alert the population, see if we can get some evacuation going," Robin said, looking at the rest of us. "I'll go help Cyborg. Raven, you and BB get Aqualad cleaned up."

Starfire and Robin made for the door while I slowly slipped an arm around Aqualad's shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I've been to Atlantis once or twice, in the past. It was an amazing place. And I know that it's hard to see an entire civilization wiped out in one day. No one should have to live through that." I was thinking of Azarath as I said this.

Aqualad slowly accepted my half hug, but didn't return it, which was just as well. I didn't give them out much. Beast Boy was suddenly in front of us.

"Alrighty then, hows about we get going, eh?" He seemed rather eager to get me and Aqualad's tender-ish moment over with, I noticed. I stood up on one side, BB on the other.

"Easy now." With both of us supporting him, we carried Aqualad over to the elevator.

"Where to?' Beast Boy asked me.

"My room. I have some herbs that should help."

"Wouldn't the infirmary work just fine? He only has a broken arm."

"Yeah, and he's just experienced extreme trauma! He just saw his entire home reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes, he needs more than a cast."

Beast Boy was silent as we maneuvered Aqualad, now semiconscious, into the elevator. After we were moving BB added to himself, "I hope we don't have to endure the same thing." I didn't respond.

The door to my room opened as we approached and I lit all of the candles with my mind. I then smoothed out the bed with one arm and carefully, with Beast Boy's help, laid him face-up upon it. As I went to get a special mixture I saw Beast Boy standing by the door, looking nervous.

"Don't worry, I'll allow you to be in my room, just this once." I turned to Aqualad. "This powder will give you dreamless sleep to help you recover. I will be performing several spells while you rest." I took a pinch of powder out of the jar and blew it softly over Aqualad's eyes. They instantly closed, and his breathing became deep. I floated beside him, legs crossed and hands out, getting control of the energy in the room. I cracked an eye open and said to Beast Boy "Could you go get some cold washcloths please? And a thicker blanket?"

Beast Boy nodded and left the room.

I sighed and continued to meditate. _Once again, I'm sorry, Aqualad. _I thought, sending the thoughts to him, even though he couldn't hear me. _I suppose that all of these ceremonial things are unnecessary to your recovery. We could go with what Beast Boy said, give you a cast and let you be on your way. But when my home, Azarath, was destroyed, I got nothing for consolation, and it was so hard to get over. I was permanently scarred from watching so many lives end at once, and I don't want you to end up the same way. I wish we knew more about what we were facing, though…_

Suddenly I had an idea.

Walking over to a trunk pushed against the far wall, I opened it and pulled out a white book bound with silver metal. I flipped it open to a random page.

"Hello, Malchior, long time no see."

A face formed out of the words on the paper. "My sweet Raven, it has indeed been a while. Come to fall for me again, have you?"

"Don't call me that," I hissed, momentarily losing my temper. I took a deep breath, and continued. "Much as I hate to say it, I need your help. I need to know about a creature who calls himself Apocalypse."

The book made a yawning sound. "Why ask me?"

"Because you're a dragon," I said, slightly annoyed with his attitude. "And Dragons tend to know about the various monsters of the world. Especially dragons that have done nothing but read for over 1000 years."

"But as you say, I am a dragon, not a textbook. Go find your info somewhere else. I see nothing in it for me."

"You know, I could always burn this book…" I began. Malchior was silent for a few seconds.

"Apocalypse, you say his name was?"

I smiled to myself. "That's right."

The eyes on the page moved out of sight, and I could hear some muttering and the sound of flipping pages. "Aha!" he exclaimed, and then he was back.

"Apparently Apocalypse is some sort of demon. His realm is close to the center of the Earth, and he's only been able to break free once, before even I was born. It was then that he flooded the entire planet." Malchior glanced away, more rustling of pages. "It says here that Apocalypse can call on the powers of Hell to do his bidding. He can shoot energy much like your father, summon minions and even split himself into several clones. He is almost impossible to kill, and no single person has ever succeeded." He paused. "Although that's rather obvious, isn't it? I assume you'll be facing him soon? Good luck, Raven. You'll need it."

I raised an eyebrow at this. "Are you hoping that I'll free you again?"

"Either that or-"

I quickly shut the book and put it back in the trunk. I had barely returned to my meditative position beside Aqualad before Beast Boy came back, arms laden with towels, washcloths and a mug. He set the blankets on the floor, put a washcloth on Aqualad's forehead and handed me the mug. "Herbal tea?"

"Wow, thank you." I accepted the steaming tea and inhaled deeply. It was perfect. How did he do it? "That's very nice of you."

"Well, just think of it as an apology for the rude awakening." Beast Boy smiled at me sheepishly. I gave him a quick hug.

"You're sometimes almost tolerable, you know that?"

Beast Boy flushed deep red, then laughed. "Anything else I can do?"

"Sure, keep me company. Help me meditate." I levitated him over to sit beside me. He looked surprised for a bit, wobbling in midair, then calmed and closed his eyes.

I have never meditated so well in my entire life.


	5. The Destruction of Titans Tower

**Well, here's Chapter 5. Not much else to say. Sorry it's so short. A lot of the chapters to come are smaller ones, just hang with me. And thanks for the reviews so far, everyone who reviewed! It makes me happy to see that people like my work!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. Is there an echo in here?**

The sun began to set much too quickly. Aqualad had benefited from the hours of sleep, and standing there in the living room, despite the arm in the sling, he looked almost back to normal. Many of the Titans had answered the call for help, and Jump City was swarming with superheroes. Titans Tower held Cyborg, Aqualad, Jinx, Speedy and Bumblebee. All around the waterfront were different squads. I was with Robin, Kid Flash, Argent, and Herald. Beast Boy had Mas y Menos, Pantha, Hot Spot, Bushido and Jericho. Starfire was with Lightning, Thunder, Red Star, Kole, Gnarrk and Wildebeest. I was pleased to see that most, if not all, of the townspeople had evacuated.

"Do you see anything yet?" Robin asked Cyborg over his communicator. Cyborg's voice answered later, slightly muted with static.

"No, nothing yet. No wait, there's something! Out there, at the edge of the bay!"

"What is that?" I heard Bee's voice say in the background. I noticed storm clouds forming on the horizon.

"It's him! Open fire!" Cyborg shouted. I saw a blue laser, gold bursts, a swarm of arrows and a pink shockwave all burst out of the Tower and converge on a figure standing on the sea. Water plumed upwards like a mine had just exploded. But when the smoke cleared and the waves died, it was as if nothing had changed. I used my enhanced vision (from my dad's side, as you could have guessed) to focus in on the figure as he walked across the bay towards Jump City. He had skin black as space, glowing eyes, a twisted, fanged smile, and golden gauntlets around his fists. White hair blew out behind him. He was incredibly built, and probably about eight feet tall.

_He looks like a mini Trigon! _I thought. But I was still nervous. Even with Malchior's information in everyone's heads, could we win against the demon who had felled Atlantis with three shots?

Suddenly, Apocalypse leaped up amid the continual fire he was taking and smashed right into the living room of Titans Tower. On the top floor. All was silent, until…

_Boom!_

A massive explosion ripped the top of Titans Tower apart. Flames danced out, concrete and clouds of debris rained on the ocean. The original burst was followed by a few others, but those were smaller. I stared in horror, unable to look away.

"JINX!" Kid Flash screamed. He turned to run to the Tower, but Robin stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"We can't go anywhere, Flash, we're needed here! We have to stay in formation!"

"He's right, Kid," Argent put in, laying a hand on his shoulder. "If we go, then this entire area is left unguarded. We're spread to thinly to move about."

My communicator buzzed. "Raven, this is Beast Boy! What's going on?"

"Apocalypse is destroying Titans Tower," I told him simply. I heard Pantha swear in the background.

"Well we gotta get some help over there!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "We can't just leave them, Aqualad is injured still and-"

"No!" Robin grabbed my communicator. "We can't afford to move anywhere!" He looked up at Titans Tower with a pained expression on his face. "And by the time we get there, it'll be too late."

"But…" I heard Beast Boy say as Robin handed me my communicator back. I caught a glimpse of a figure jumping down out of the smoking ruins of our home and continue walking towards us.

"Here he comes," I told Robin. He nodded and pulled several explosive disks out of his belt. As soon as Apocalypse was close enough to be in view for everyone, Robin opened his communicator and called to everyone, saying, "Titans, together!"

Every long range attack anyone could do soared out of various parts of the city and smashed into Apocalypse. An enormous fireball instantly appeared and expanded. The heat and concussive blast rattled my teeth and burnt my face. Everyone was pushed back.

When the smoke cleared, no one was there.

"Did we kill it?" Argent asked. I closed my eyes and concentrated. I could still feel Apocalypse's presence, but it was divided into several points.

"No, he split into clones," I informed everyone. "About six of them. And he also summoned an-"

"Whoa!" Beast Boy's voice crackled out of my communicator. "Giant skeleton army!"

"Yeah," I muttered. "That."

"Okay, my team, take out the clones," Robin ordered. "Beast Boy and Star, can you handle the army?"

I heard Beast Boy crack his knuckles. "No problem, dude. We can take 'em, easy."

"Yes, we shall emerge victorious!" Starfire added.

"None of them got the guts to face us!" Beast Boy laughed. "You get it? No guts? Skeletons?"

I groaned and pinched my brow in exasperation.

"Alright, Titans, move out!" Robin ordered, then shut his communicator.


	6. Raven's Curse

**Here's where the drama really kicks up. It's short, yeah, but I still like this chapter.**

**We're also catching up to where I'm adding new material, so posts might come a bit more spread apart now. The end of book 1 approaches…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. If I did, Robin would be able to shoot shuriken from his eyes. XP**

The clones rose out of the water slowly and silently, like in some sort of monster movie. It had started to rain, dousing the burning Tower, and the falling droplets created a hazy mist over everything. It was hard to see, and I had to keep my hood up to keep my wet hair from falling into my eyes.

It had gotten too dark to see where the other clones and Titans had gone, but I got one to myself. It walked relentlessly slowly, chasing me back into the streets and alleyways. I'm not sure why, but I was scared of this thing. And being scared made me angry.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" I shouted, and sent a twisting shot of dark energy slamming into his chest. He merely laughed, kept walking, and punched the ground. With a flash of red, large sections of the street and a cloud of dust exploded upwards, and I quickly threw up a shield. When the wreckage cleared, Apocalypse was gone.

I felt a crushing blow slam into my back, sending me down _through _the street and into the sewer tunnels below. I lay there, gasping like a fish out of water, and the only thing I could think was: _why do we always fight in the sewers? Every time?_ Apocalypse splashed down behind me, arms raised for another strike.

Wincing, I spun around and levitated a huge chunk of concrete at him, forcing it into his chin. He toppled with a yell of surprise, and I got out of that sewer fast. But he was right behind me, forcing his dislocated jaw back into place with a loud pop. He leveled his fists at me as I flew away and fired.

I heard the discharge from behind me, and unable to do anything else, I dropped to the ground like a stone. The street glowed red as the fire blasted over top of me, missing me by a half a foot at best. And Apocalypse was right there, following the shot, fist back and already moving forward as I turned, like the whole thing was in slow motion. I remembered back when Slade was chasing me for the first time, when I had frozen the world. I tried it again.

It didn't work as well as I had hoped, but Apocalypse was now moving as slow as he seemed. I flew out of range, cleared my throat and yelled my mantra as loud as I could. And with a sweep of my arms, assorted cars, pieces of tarmac, lamp posts, waste bins, sides of buildings, and anything nearby flew as one and slammed into the frozen figure beneath me. The crushing sound was muted, but still deafening.

And suddenly I was exhausted. I slumped slowly to the ground as my time spell broke, sending everything moving back as it should. A large, several-story pile of junk was packed onto the spot where Apocalypse had stood. I couldn't see any trace of him. I hoped I wouldn't, because for now, I wouldn't be able to fight if he showed up.

But of course, it wouldn't be that easy.

A car hood burst off of the pile I had created, followed by an arm. I choked on my own breath and backed up down the street, pulling my cloak protectively around me and hoping he would take a long time getting out. He didn't.

Rolling to his feet, Apocalypse immediately saw me and started walking toward me, disturbing smile back on his face.

I'm not exactly sure what happened next, it was all a blur of running through the misty rain, hearing his evil laugh following me, and slipping on the puddles. My powers had returned after a while, but I was so terrified for some reason I couldn't bring myself to turn and fight. Timid had gained control.

As I tripped for what seemed like the thousandth time and landed hard on the cobblestones, Apocalypse caught up with me.

Laughing triumphantly, he grabbed my hood and held me up off of the ground, effectively choking and immobilizing me. He pulled back, cocked his fist, and punched.

But the would-have-been killing blow was stopped. A blackish red shield had sprung up on its own accord, diverting the strike away. I felt an unearthly, but not unfamiliar rage consume me, fill me up, and I could only watch.

"Do you have any idea who my father was?" a growly, harsh version of my voice asked. I kicked backwards and with a mighty oomph Apocalypse was knocked back and down. I stood over him.

"I am the child of Trigon the Terrible!" I felt my face twist and reshape, now four red eyes instead of two, and jagged fangs.

"And I killed him! Me!" I heard myself laugh, a horrible, wretched sound. "You are a lesser demon, Apocalypse; you are no match for me. Be gone, worthless filth."

I raised my hand and a red and black energy burst shot out and crashed into Apocalypse, seeping into his eyes and mouth and burning there, eating away at him. He screamed, and I did too, for the pain now in my casting hand was almost unbearable. My flesh was burned, bleeding, falling away, and I couldn't move as the agony traveled up my arm, through my shoulder, towards my heart, flaming away at my motionless body.

I fell back, sobbing. My hand was unmarked, but the pain was still there, throbbing under my skin, in my blood. I raised my head to view my opponent, but there was nobody there. Nothing but dust. My face was back to normal, as was my voice.

"What just happened?" I asked the rain. "Was that Trigon? But it can't be, he's dead!"

_And I killed him._ I remembered myself say. With a sick wave of nausea I realized that it wasn't Trigon who had cast that curse. It was me.

I collapsed, the drizzle now a downpour, and thunder booming in the distance. My agonized tears mixed with the water on my face as I slowly slipped away into darkness.


	7. Robin's Savior

**Next Chapter. Not much happens here, just a little detail. A rather important detail, but still…**

**Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat, DO NOT own the Teen Titans. Sad that I feel compelled to say that most every chapter.**

**Enjoy… **

Eventually everything faded back into focus. The pain of my curse was more of an ache, but I was dizzy. Getting up was a challenge.

The incessant muted explosions of thunder were still present, as was the distant sound of fighting and shouting from behind me. _I wonder if Beast Boy is okay…_ I thought. I considered calling him, but decided against it. Talking to someone on a communicator while fighting was extremely difficult, if not impossible. Especially if you relied on transforming into animals with no hands or human speech to do battle.

_No._ I decided. _I should find Robin._

I pulled my communicator out and activated the tracking feature on it. Robin was a few blocks over, not moving. That made me nervous.

As I was too woozy to levitate, I walked. Every alleyway I looked down I expected to find a body. And I finally came across one, but it wasn't Robin's. He was kneeling beside it, panting heavily. I quickly went over.

"Robin, are you okay?"

"Raven?" he looked up, slightly dazed. "Thank goodness you're alright."

As I approached I realized the body belonged to Red X.

"Robin, what…" I stuttered. "What happened?"

"I was cornered, surrounded by two clones. I was almost dead, but then Red X just flies in out of nowhere and starts fighting them. He killed one, but got stabbed by the other."

I noticed a sharp piece of broken, bloody pipe lying beside them on the ground. Then I saw Robin reaching out slowly, arm quivering, to remove Red X's mask. I stopped him.

"Don't," I said. "It's not right. Leave him be as he is."

Robin sighed shakily and slouched against the rain washed alley wall. He was breathing in wheezy gasps, and he was incredibly pale.

"You don't look so good," I told him, sitting next to him.

"Look who's talking," he muttered. I shrugged, it was probably true.

"I'll just catch my breath here, then go help BB and Star," he explained to me. I didn't like the look of his skin, it was pasty white. I reached my hand over to check his forehead, but it came up dark red. Blood. The entire alleyway was soaked in it. Too much to be from Red X's single stab wound.

"Robin, are you sure you're…"

I glanced down, then shrieked in horror.

His right arm wasn't there, just a gory, ragged stump. Robin looked at it in mild surprise, and then fell over, out cold.

I quickly turned him over and tried to heal him, making his heart produce more blood and sealing up the gaping wound. Everything swam in and out of focus as more tears came. I was light-headed, sick, and I felt myself leaning over. I tried to get balanced, but I collapsed again.

With my last acts of consciousness, I pulled out my communicator and activated the distress signal. Hopefully BB or Star would see it before it was too late for Robin.


	8. Apocalypse Falls

**Here's where it all wraps up, ladies and gentlemen. Not the final chapter, but the one where we finally figure out the whole story. Review, and tell me what you think, please!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Whoa, Déjà Vu… didn't I already say that?**

I was shaken awake. It was still pouring, but my face wasn't wet because Beast Boy was leaning over it, eyes filled with worry.

"Are you okay?"

I groaned and tried to sit up. I was sort of surprised that Beast Boy let me. My head swam.

"I just tried to do too many spells, that's all." I didn't tell him the truth, not when I wasn't ready to accept it myself. I saw in BB's eyes that he sensed that this wasn't the whole story, but thankfully he kept quiet.

I glanced over to see Robin sitting under a shop awning, stump in a sling. He still looked pale, but not as much as before. Then, as Beast Boy helped me to my feet, I realized something. Beast Boy was here. What about the army?

"Beast Boy, what about the-"

"Beaten. Smoked. We kicked their butts."

This wasn't everything, I could tell. "And Starfire?"

Beast Boy suddenly looked away and stifled a sob. "Her legs are crushed. She can't walk."

Without thinking, I pulled him into a tight hug. He stiffened in surprise, then relaxed, and actually hugged me back. The moment didn't last long, but I couldn't help feeling a bit happier after we pulled apart, like all wasn't totally lost.

Yeah, right. As if.

Robin was on his feet. "C'mon, we should go, see where the others went."

Beast Boy and I followed him into the rain, shyly keeping our distance from each other. I could hear Happy singing in my mind, despite everything. I almost smiled. But then Sadness was back, and I felt grief. How many of our numbers had died? What had happened to Cyborg, Aqualad, Bumblebee? Would Starfire be okay?

Through my own emotions, which were running rampant, I picked up Robin's feelings, and felt ten times worse. He was in an empty void of utter despair. He felt lost, defeated, and nervous about Starfire. Although 'nervous' wasn't strong enough a word, really. In any other circumstances, I would have tried to absorb some of his emotions, but right then I didn't think I could handle any more. Especially with Rage making it's uninvited appearance earlier. I shivered involuntarily, and part of me guiltily hoped someone would hold my hand. No one did.

The scenes we viewed were not pretty. Herald was beaten up pretty badly. We gave him permission to return home, and he gratefully did. Argent was nowhere to be found, but the supreme damage around the area where she had been was enough to suggest that quite a fight had taken place. No one could tell who had won.

Kid Flash had apparently beaten his opponent, but was also missing. Robin knew exactly where he was.

"He's at Titans Tower, I'd bet anything on it." He paused, reconsidering. "Or, at least, he was."

"Maybe we should go too, see if Cyborg is okay." There was a desperate edge to Beast Boy's voice that almost made me cry. Again. But I held back my tears.

"Well, if Apocalypse is beaten, then…"

"Not. Yet."

We all whirled to see Apocalypse dragging himself out of an alley, smeared with blood and crackling with black energy. "I still have one shot left," he told us, his white tongue lolling out of his mouth as he smiled yet again, revealing several broken teeth.

He stiffened as the energy around him grew more intense, then he started laughing. As he fell for the final time, he straitened his arm and fired.

Point blank at Beast Boy.

"No!" without thinking, without reasoning, without any chance to cast a spell, I threw myself in front of him. Half of a shield was up for my protection when I was hit.

The dark street went from black to red to searing white as I was engulfed in a whirling storm of burning heat and stabbing pain. All of the breath was sucked from my lungs; my meager barrier quivered, then broke. I could hear the faint sounds of laughing, of screaming, and above it all, one petrified exclamation:

"RAVEN!"

I couldn't feel anything as I slowly fell to the ground, my cloak and probably my skin burning. Everything danced in and out of focus, and the rain felt cool as it fell on me. Sound was distorted, and I couldn't tell what was going on. The clouds were parting, now a drizzle, not a storm. I felt at peace, for some reason.

Suddenly, two faces were standing over me, looking down with fear and sadness. I tried to reach up to them, but I couldn't move my arms. The light was fading, and everything swirling away.

"Wait…" I managed to say through my burned lips, but then I was gone.

I was surprised when I woke up. I was in a cold, sterile room, lying on a hard, flat bed, staring at a bright set of fluorescent lights. I moaned and tried to turn away from them, but I didn't have the energy.

"She's awake!" I heard a voice say. Robin was suddenly leaning over me, a worried but relieved look on his face.

"The light." I told him. "Turn it off."

Robin didn't move, but the light did disappear. Then Beast Boy was there.

"You okay, Rae?"

In any other situation I would have busted him for calling me that, but I let it slide. "Peachy," I answered.

He smiled sadly. "We didn't think you were going to make it." He told me. "The doctors had already given up trying to save you."

"What happened to Apocalypse?" I wondered.

"Well," Robin said, sitting down. "Apparently, splitting into clones was his own downfall. Being separated, his power was divided into sixths, making him weaker. And whatever damage was taken by the clones directly affected him, too."

"So he's gone?"

"Completely."

"And us?"

"We sustained some casualties. Argent is still missing, Jinx was badly injured, and Aqualad didn't make it." He covered his face in his remaining hand. "We also lost Hot Spot, Jericho and Wildebeest."

I felt a guilty pang for every name spoken. "But…"

Beast Boy read my mind. "But the original Titans are still together. We made it."

I smiled, for real this time, and fell asleep.


	9. Disaster

**The final chapter! Bet you didn't see THIS coming!**

**Note: this is back to present day, Terra's POV. Just to clarify things.**

**BTW, I don't own the Teen Titans. But wait, you probably already knew that…**

**Read! This'll shock you, for sure!**

Terra was unaware of being pulled out of the pool until she was lying on the ground beside it. She coughed and rubbed her eyes to see the Intelligence Raven through the fuzzy mist clouding her eyesight.

"What… What's going on?"

"I'm afraid that you need to leave, Terra. It's not safe anymore. The edges of Nevermore are collapsing." Intelligence helped her to her feet.

"Why? Let me stay here, I can help!"

"No!" Intelligence said forcefully, pushing open the doors. "We will take care of it. As long as Nevermore exists somewhere, we will be fine. But you won't survive if something bad happens."

It was then that Terra noticed that the original Raven and Memory were absent, as was everyone else.

"Where did everyone go?" she asked as she jogged behind her leader.

"To the edge, where everything is unraveling. Quicker, please."

They climbed up a steep incline. Terra did notice that something was wrong: the stars were flickering, and the edges of the floating path were beginning to crumble.

"What would cause Nevermore to collapse?"

Intelligence was silent.

After a few more seconds of running up the stony pathway they had reached the spot where Terra had first arrived. Intelligence shoved Terra to the center of the rock and raised her hands, which were glowing black.

"Wait, what, how- " Terra stuttered in confusion. A loud boom echoed around them.

"I have to go, Terra. Good luck, get home safely, take care of Beast Boy." Intelligence told her. A portal opened behind Terra and began sucking her in.

"Hey, Raven, don't-!" she tried to say, but was through the portal. The last thing she saw was Intelligence lowering her arms as an unearthly roar shrieked from the distance. Then everything was black.

Terra opened her eyes to find she was lying on the hospital floor. There was someone shouting, Robin, she realized, and hurried footsteps. In the background, an EKG machine beeped. Rapidly.

Terra sat up fast to see the hub a complete mess. All of the Titans were running around in panic, Robin was demanding a paramedic through the speaker in the wall, Cyborg was shouting from his room for someone to tell him what the hell was going on, and in the center of it all was Raven, who was arching her back in agony and screaming as the heart-rate-monitor began pulsing even faster.

_This is why Nevermore is collapsing._ Terra realized. _Raven is dying!_

"Raven?" Terra knelt down beside her and tried to figure out what to do, but couldn't think of a single thing. Beast Boy was out of his bed and beside her, holding Raven's hand and crying.

"WHERE ARE THOSE F***ING DOCTORS!" Robin yelled at the phone. There was an apparent riot at the other end of the line.

The EKG was beeping faster and faster. Raven began to convulse and jerk wildly, face set in agony. She opened her eyes and screamed silently, and her irises were a deep red.

"Raven, no… Raven!" Starfire stared at her friend in horror, but was unable to do anything, just like everyone else.

Terra was panicking, searching desperately for one of those shocker-thingies, or anything that would work. Where was the defibrillator? Sweat poured from her brow as the machine began to pulse even faster. Beebeebeebeebeebeebeebeebeebeebeebee.

_We have to be able to do something! _Terra thought through the insanity. _We can't just sit here! _

Bebebebebebebebebebebebebebe.

_No! This can't be it! Where are the doctors? Raven's going to-_

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Raven slowly fell still, exhaling softly. Terra stared at the line on the screen. It was flat, all of them were. She mentally screamed at them to start back up. They didn't.

Beast Boy clutched Raven's hand tighter. The once chaotic area was now completely still and silent, save for the long, drawn out tone from the monitor.

"No…" Robin whispered disbelievingly. Starfire buried her face in her hands, sobbing. Beast Boy's eyes widened, and tears slowly fell, landing on Raven's hand and sliding silently down her fingers, dripping onto the floor.

"Yo, what happened? What is …" Cyborg realized what and stopped talking abruptly.

"Raven?" BB asked, his voice sounding so scared Terra almost couldn't stand it. She slowly wrapped an arm around Beast Boy's shoulders, but he shrugged it off and stood up, still clutching the pale girl's hand like it was the only thing keeping him alive.

"Raven!"

His voice echoed. She didn't respond.

The speaker buzzed on the wall, and an urgent-sounding woman spoke through it.

"This is Dr. Mariana, what's happening? We're almost there."

Robin slowly walked over and hit the button. When he spoke, his voice sounded blank and empty.

"You're too late," he told them. "Raven's dead."

**See? What'd I tell ya?**

**Now, before all of those Raven lovers out there start threatening to wring my neck, I will say that there IS a sequel to this story. When it's written. Raven's not out of the picture yet, not by a long shot. And she's my favorite character; I couldn't just kill her off and leave it there!**

**See ya'll next book! Watch for it, it'll come. I promise. 8D**


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